In the following days, Lexie’s room felt emptier with each passing moment, devoid of Isiah’s presence.
Eijar and Astrid offered fleeting visits, their concern palpable but unable to fill the void left by his absence.
Ciel’s occasional appearances brought a brief respite, yet the longing for Isiah’s return lingered like a haunting specter.
As her physical wounds slowly healed, Lexie found her emotional scars deepening, consuming her with a suffocating despair.
Each breath felt like a burden, and the mere thought of food turned her stomach.
She refrained from inquiring about his whereabouts or activities. Because, the day she glimpsed him conversing effortlessly with Astrid, something deep within her fractured.
The notion of never experiencing such casual camaraderie with him pierced her heart like a shard of glass, leaving her feeling irreparably broken.
She spent her days reclined on the bed, her gaze fixed on the emptiness around her, consumed by an anxious anticipation of his inevitable departure.
Memories of him abandoning her in Triavert, and even prior to that in Afan, haunted her thoughts, fueling her fears of being left alone once more.
She cried often, her face growing pale and her eyes reddened from lack of sleep and constant tears.
Yet, whenever Eijar, Astrid, or Ciel visited, she put on a brave front, masking her pain. She didn’t want their pity, choosing instead to bear her suffering in silence.
Meanwhile, Isiah was preoccupied with finding a way to reach the next region unnoticed. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NoveI~Fire.net
Astrid provided him with plenty of information, but the location for the transportation was far away, and the journey would be difficult, especially with Ciel’s attachment to Lexie.
A week after her awakening, Eijar waited up late to talk to Isiah when he returned to Astrid’s apartment.
She waited for him in the living room, and when he finally came in, she curled her body towards his body, reaching for his neck, and whispered, "Something is wrong with Lexie."
Isiah remained indifferent, his expression unreadable. "What about her?" he asked flatly.
Eijar looked at him, frustration and concern etched on her face. "She’s not healing well. She barely eats or sleeps, and she spends her days staring into space. It’s like she’s given up."
Isiah’s gaze hardened, but he said nothing.
"Isiah," Eijar pressed, "this isn’t just about her physical wounds. She’s heartbroken and confused. You can’t just leave her ."
"She’ll survive," Isiah replied coldly. "She’s stronger than you think."
Eijar shook her head, her tail pressing on his arm tightening. "You don’t understand. She’s broken, and you’re the only one who can fix this."
"Fix what?" Isiah snapped, pulling away. "she’ll get over it."
"Get over it?" Eijar’s voice rose in anger. "You don’t see it, do you? She needs you. She needs to know why you did what you did. You owe her that much."
Isiah’s eyes flickered with something—regret, perhaps—but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "I can’t help her, Eijar. Not the way you want me to."
Eijar sighed, stepping back. "Then at least don’t make it worse. Show her some kindness, Isiah. For once."
With that, she turned and left the room, leaving Isiah alone with his thoughts.
Isiah’s mind churned with conflicting emotions as Eijar’s words echoed in his head.
He had gone to Triavert with the intent to kill Lexie, and he had shed blood to achieve that goal. But in his mind, it had been a necessary evil, a means to an end.
He had told her countless times that he was going to kill her, yet here she was, alive and breathing.
To Isiah, Eijar’s concerns seemed exaggerated, blown out of proportion. Lexie was resilient, stronger than she appeared.
She would survive this, just as she had survived everything else he had thrown at her.
As Isiah entered Lexie’s room, the soft glow of moonlight illuminated her sleeping form.
She lay still, her chest rising and falling rhythmically with each breath. Isiah hesitated for a moment, his gaze lingering on her peaceful face.
Step by step, Isiah approached her bedside, his movements cautious yet determined.
For a moment, he simply stood there, silently watching over her as she slept.
With a heavy sigh, he regarded her .
"You can’t continue this charade of weakness," Isiah muttered, his voice tinged with bitterness.
His breath caught in his throat as her delicate hand grasped his arm, her voice slicing through the silence of the room like a knife.
Isiah’s initial instinct was to pull away, to distance himself .. Yet, he found himself rooted to the spot, unable to break free from the invisible tether that bound him to her.
"Why are you here, Isiah... in the middle of the night?" Her voice was soft, tinged with a hint of reproach, yet there was an undercurrent of vulnerability that tugged at his conscience.
Isiah hesitated, his mind racing as he searched for an answer that would satisfy him.
Isiah’s gaze hardened, his features contorting with a mixture of frustration and bitterness as he wrestled with the turmoil raging within him.
"Why am I here?" he repeated, his voice laced with a biting edge that cut through the stillness of the room. "Because you’re incapable of taking care of yourself, that’s why."
The words hung in the air like a heavy fog, suffocating the space between them with their harsh reality.
Isiah’s heart clenched with the weight of his own cruelty, yet he couldn’t bring himself to soften his stance, to offer the comfort she so desperately sought.
"You think I enjoy playing nursemaid to a helpless invalid?" he continued, his tone dripping with disdain. "You’re nothing but a burden, Lexie, a pathetic shell of women."
Each word was like a dagger to his own heart, a painful reminder of the depths to which he had sunk in his quest for vengeance.
Yet, even as he spoke, he couldn’t deny the twisted satisfaction that simmered beneath the surface, the satisfaction of seeing her brought low by his own hand.